Frontier Developments the fast growing self publishing video games developer has this week announced a positive in-line with expectations update to the market.

Shares in the company which have put in an amazing 1,400% increase since my first covering it back in 2013 at 95p could well have much further to go where broker FinnCap has now upped its target price to £17.00p.

Catching up with the company once more in wake of the trading update it appears holders of the stock should enjoy further news flow in the coming months and beyond, where the immediate focus will be on the much anticipated third franchise, Jurassic World Evolution.

Jurassic World Evolution is coming to PC, PS4 and Xbox One in summer 2018

Speaking with founder and CEO David Braben, it appears all is on track with the forthcoming game as he went on to explain.

“The game is still being developed and very much behind closed doors where we have around 100 people working on it.

Having provided a glimpse of that at our expo last year which was very well received we are obviously excited and it will be ready for release in the summer”.

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This, he confirms, will coincide with the release of the film Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom in June of this year, which will no doubt see eager gamers and interested shareholders salivating and counting down the days.

David Braben

Braben himself who as ever generates and resonates a boyish enthusiasm around the various gaming themes also talks of beyond the impending release and says that in conjunction with that, Frontier will also be announcing the title of its fourth franchise.

Although giving nothing away on what this may actually be, he does confirm that it will be something that once more strikes a familiar chord with the audience.

COO David Walsh does point out though that as further games come through, not all will necessarily be aligned to a film title.

Rather, it appears the company is also looking to expand and bring new ideas and themes to market.

And with such a massive market opportunity to go for, the company now looks ideally placed to accelerate further across the sector which is being fuelled by the Chinese market.

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“China is growing very rapidly and I don't think people really appreciate just how big it is," Walsh says. "It is absolutely immense which is wonderful from our perspective where it is being driven by an emerging and growing Chinese middle class”.

Braben says its first two franchises Elite Dangerous and Planet Coaster continue to do well where paid for additions have further supported the respective stories and where there should be further to follow.

Looking ahead to the near term the company is expecting to report sales of around £19m for the first half of 2018 after continued traction from those first two games Elite Dangerous and Planet Coaster.

Although for now FinnCap forecasts a dip in revenue for the year in progress on the comparable period with a £29.7m estimate, this was already anticipated and merely paves the way for a potentially bumper performance in 2019.

To that end the broker has pencilled in revenue for next year of £58m with a pre-tax profit of £15.3m and EPS of 34.5p.

Those numbers however could well prove somewhat conservative particularly if Jurassic World Evolution is as big a hit as many watchers now believe.

Frontier's new Science Park headquarters will eventually look something like this

As Frontier counts down to that release, it will soon be moving into the newly built and impressive HQ just down the road from its current locations. “The exterior there is all finished and the interior is now being fitted out,” says Braben. “And we will be moving in sometime during March, which will be great to have everyone under one roof as opposed to the two places we have at present”.

Frontier shares are currently off the 52-week high of £15.00 and appear to be pausing for breath. But, with news flow and interest set to gather pace in the current year, investors may opt to fasten their seat belts and sit tight.